2019 CONCACAF Champions League
The 2019 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2019 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) will be the 11th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 54th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Guadalajara are the title holders, but will not qualify for this tournament and will be unable to defend their title. Qualification A total of 16 teams participate in the CONCACAF Champions League: *North American Zone: 9 teams (from three associations) *Central American Zone: 5 teams (from five associations) *Caribbean Zone: 1 team (from one association) *Winners of the CONCACAF League (from one association, from either Central American Zone or Caribbean Zone) Therefore, teams from either 9 or 10 out of the 41 CONCACAF member associations may participate in the CONCACAF Champions League. North America The nine berths for the North American Football Union (NAFU) are allocated to the three NAFU member associations as follows: four berths each for Mexico and the United States, and one berth for Canada. For Mexico, the champions and runners-up of the Liga MX Apertura and Clausura Liguilla (playoff) tournaments qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League. If there is any team which are finalists of both tournaments, the vacated berth is reallocated using a formula, based on regular season records, that ensures that two teams qualify via each tournament. For the United States, because of the restructuring of the CONCACAF Champions League starting from 2018, two teams each from the 2017 and 2018 seasons qualify for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League: *The champions of the MLS Cup, the championship match of the MLS Cup Playoffs, in 2017 and 2018 *The champions of the U.S. Open Cup, its domestic cup competition, in 2017 and 2018 This means that the Supporters' Shield champions in 2017 and 2018, and the Eastern Conference or Western Conference regular season champions which are not Supporters' Shield champions in 2017 and 2018, which would have qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League in the usual setup, are not guaranteed a berth in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League. If there is any team which qualifies through multiple berths, or if there is any Canada-based MLS team which are champions of the 2017 or 2018 MLS Cup, the vacated berth is reallocated to the U.S.-based team with the best aggregate record over the 2017 and 2018 MLS regular seasons. For Canada, the champions of the Canadian Championship, its domestic cup competition which awards the Voyageurs Cup, qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League. While some Canada-based teams compete in the MLS, they cannot qualify through either the MLS regular season or Playoffs. Central America The five berths for the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) are allocated to five of the seven UNCAF member associations as follows: one berth for each of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama. As all of the leagues of Central America employ a split season with two tournaments in one season, the champions with the better aggregate record (or any team which are champions of both tournaments) in the leagues of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League. If teams from any Central American associations are excluded, they are replaced by teams from other Central American associations, with the associations chosen based on results from previous CONCACAF Champions League tournaments. Caribbean The sole berth for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) is allocated via the Caribbean Club Championship, a subcontinental tournament open to the clubs of all 31 CFU member associations. Since 2018, the competition is divided into two tiers: the Tier 1 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship which is open to teams from professional leagues, and the Tier 2 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield which is open to teams from non-professional leagues. To qualify for the Tier 1 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship, teams have to finish as the champions or runners-up of their respective association's league in the previous season, while to qualify for the Tier 2 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield, teams have to finish as the champions of their respective association's league in the previous season. The champions of the Tier 1 CONCACAF Caribbean Club Championship qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League. CONCACAF League Besides the 15 direct entrants of the CONCACAF Champions League, another 16 teams (13 from the Central American Football Union, 3 from the Caribbean Football Union) enter the CONCACAF League, a tournament held from August to October prior to the CONCACAF Champions League. The champions of the CONCACAF League qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League. Teams The following 16 teams (from nine or ten associations) will qualify for the tournament. In the following table, the number of appearances, last appearance, and previous best result count only those in the CONCACAF Champions League era starting from 2008–09 (not counting those in the era of the Champions' Cup from 1962 to 2008). } TBD | |2018 CONCACAF League champions | | | |} Draw The draw for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League will be held in December 2018. The seeding of teams are based on the CONCACAF Club Index. Each team qualifies for the CONCACAF Champions League based on criteria set by the respective associations (e.g., tournament champions, runners-up, cup champions), resulting in an assigned slot (e.g., MEX1, MEX2) for each team. The CONCACAF Club Index, instead of ranking each team, is based on the on-field performance of the teams that have occupied the respective qualifying slots in the previous five editions of the CONCACAF Champions League. To determine the total points awarded to a slot in any single edition of the CONCACAF Champions League, CONCACAF uses the following formula: The 16 teams are distributed in the pots as follows: } |} See also *2018 CONCACAF League External links * Category:2019 CONCACAF Champions League Category:2019–20 in CONCACAF football Category:CONCACAF Champions League Category:2018–19 in CONCACAF football